- Aug 6, 2014
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Hi everyone, this is my first post, but this site and its members have been instrumental to my family's backyard chickening...
I have 4 hens, 3 are 3 years old and the other is 2... The dominant hen has taken ill about two days ago. It was practically overnight. She was fine one day and now is just laying down and won't move for anything. She isn't paralyzed as she will rock to one side occasionally. I moved her to a large kennel with plenty of straw and pine shavings to isolate her from the others. I have read a lot about marek's, cocci and worms and have not seen any signs of those. Her eyes are fine, no swelling in legs or body, but I haven't noticed a stool in a day. I have been feeding her scrambled eggs, yogurt, a single tums (for calcium), water and organic apple cider vinegar... The only symptom, besides a little weight loss and being tired, is a dark red comb and wattle (almost like red wine) and her chest is a little bare. Her crop is fine, i have checked for ticks and lice without a trace... She doesn't chow down on food, but i think she has wasted in the day it took me to figure out there was a problem... So I don't expect her to have an appetite just yet. She has been my most productive hen and stopped laying about 4 to 5 weeks ago, when she went broody for a week or two (also when she plucked some of her chest feathers, which appear to have not yet grown back).
Please help. She is my Gigi and a beautiful black Australorp...
I have 4 hens, 3 are 3 years old and the other is 2... The dominant hen has taken ill about two days ago. It was practically overnight. She was fine one day and now is just laying down and won't move for anything. She isn't paralyzed as she will rock to one side occasionally. I moved her to a large kennel with plenty of straw and pine shavings to isolate her from the others. I have read a lot about marek's, cocci and worms and have not seen any signs of those. Her eyes are fine, no swelling in legs or body, but I haven't noticed a stool in a day. I have been feeding her scrambled eggs, yogurt, a single tums (for calcium), water and organic apple cider vinegar... The only symptom, besides a little weight loss and being tired, is a dark red comb and wattle (almost like red wine) and her chest is a little bare. Her crop is fine, i have checked for ticks and lice without a trace... She doesn't chow down on food, but i think she has wasted in the day it took me to figure out there was a problem... So I don't expect her to have an appetite just yet. She has been my most productive hen and stopped laying about 4 to 5 weeks ago, when she went broody for a week or two (also when she plucked some of her chest feathers, which appear to have not yet grown back).
Please help. She is my Gigi and a beautiful black Australorp...